Calif. Court Dismisses 4-MeI Exposure Suit Against Pepsi, Says Plaintiffs Failed to Show ‘Demonstrable Risk to Health’

SAN FRANCISCO –– A California federal court has granted a motion to dismiss brought by Pepsi, finding that the underlying plaintiffs had failed to establish a credible risk of developing cancer as a result of exposure to a carcinogen in the defendant’s Diet Pepsi and Pepsi One products.

In the March 4 opinion dismissing the case with prejudice, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California wrote that none of the articles cited by the plaintiffs link 4-methylimidazole (4-MeI) to lung cancer in humans.

The underlying claims stem from nine putative class actions that were filed, each contending …